The Secret Comfort
by leveragus
Summary: Nate and Sophe meet outside the theatre in the Nigerian Job, but Sophie's answer is different. What is she hiding?


"Seriously man, why do you want her?" Hardison tried to make him change idea. "She's like the worst actress ever"

Eliot agreed too "I agree with nerdy here! I can find you better grifters"

"There's no one better that Sophie Devereaux" Nate replied keeping an eye on the door waiting for the woman to come out."

"That's Sophie Devereaux?" Eliot exclaimed surprised. "THE Sophie Devereaux?"

Everyone in the game heard about her reputation. She conned people all over the world, making quite a fortune, nobody knew exactly how much. Last he heard though, she had left the business a couple of years before. Now that he thought about it, it had been around the time Nate left IYS. He soon recognized the smitten look on the mastermind and wondered what was their history.

The heard the back door close and the former grifter had walked outside not caring about her surroundings. Suddenly Nate Ford started clapping while walking towards her. Sophie looked up from her bag and after the initial surprise she grinned, happy to see a long lost friend.

"Nathan Ford" she greeted him "what brings you here?" she walked closer to him.

"It's good to see you Sophie" he smiled back at her.

The way he said her name sent a shiver up her spine. She could still recall how he whispered that same name in her ear that long lost night. She shook her head. Now wasn't the time to start thinking about it. She took a small step back, hoping that putting a physical distant between them would help her.

"You know, I'm a honest citizen now. What would you possible need me for?"

"Well, I'm not." He smirked. "Interested in a job?"

Sophie raised her eyebrow in question. "You're playing my side?" she gave him one of her smile that she knew it would making him weak on the knees. "I've always thought you had it in you."

Nate looked down embarrassed. "So are you in?"

She wanted to say yes, she really did. She can still remember the cons they played. The times she had helped him retrieve an insurance merchandise, and he would close an eye on her affairs. He was a good conman, one of the best. But circumstances were different now. "As much as I wouldn't want to miss this, I'll have to refuse. Like I've said; I'm a honest citizen" she looked down so he couldn't read her face. "Goodbye, Nate"

Nate watched her walk away shocked. The Sophie Devereaux he knew would have never decline a challenge. Something was up.

"So now what?" the rest of the gang approached him from behind.

"Hardison, can you track her phone?"

"If I can…" Hardison replied annoyed. "You hurt me man, really" he started working from his laptop. "Here is the signal. Give me your phone" Nate complied and the hacker transferred the program on his phone. "Now you will be able to know where she goes"

"Thanks" he looked at the beeping signal. "I'm going to try to talk to her again."

"What about us?" Parker asked, not really bothered with what was going on.

"We'll meet back at Hardison's apartment tomorrow morning." And Nate took off with his car. He followed the dot on the map until it stopped in front of a house in the suburbs. He stood there trying to figure out what to say to her. Maybe going there had been an awful idea. They didn't' exactly leave in the best of terms. Actually he couldn't really remember how they had left; memories of that night were quite blury. Maybe it had been all a dream and it hadn't really happened. With a deep sigh he got out of the car and steadily walked towards the door. He knocked and nervously waited.

"Nate!" Sophie opened the door surprised. She put her hands on her hips and looked at him angrily. "Did you follow me?"

Nate waved his phone. "Tracked your phone signal."

"How - ?"

"It helps to have a great hacker on your side" he tried to peek behind her. "Can I come in?"

She still blocked his way "Nate, my answer won't change. I'm not interested on what the job is or why you suddenly have a crew,"

"I don't have a crew!"

"As I told you my life has changed. I'm out of the game"

"So what? Now you just work in small acting parts and live off with the money you have stolen all those years? How boring is that?"

She overlooked his remark " Goodbye Nate" and tried to close the door.

"Mama" a small voice stopped her.

Sophie closed her eyes and lowered her head. Too late.

"Did I just hear…" Nate murmured.

Sophie ignored him and kneeled down. "Hey, baby girl. What are you doing up?"

Nate just stood there and watched with his mouth open. Sophie was a mother? The small girl had black short curly hair. She was like a mini version of the grifter. Except for her eyes. He would have recognized those eyes anywhere. They were Sam's eyes. His eyes.

"Me thirsty" the child whispered. She rubbed her left eye with her little fist and put her arms up waiting for her mother to pick her up.

"Okay, let's go" Sophie lifter her up and walked to the kitchen, leaving Nate at the door step. "You know I don't want you to climb out of the crib, what if you hurt yourself?" he heard Sophie in the distance. He closed the door behind him and followed them. Sophie had sat the girl on the kitchen counter and was now helping her drink water from a plastic glass.

"How… when…?" he stuttered.

Sophie looked over her shoulder. "For how, I don't think I need to explain it to you. As for when, you can do the math"

"Why didn't you…" Nate needed some answers.

"Can we talk after I've put her down to sleep again?" She picked the girl up again and went out of the room leaving Nate behind.

Where was a drink when he needed one? It could only imagine the conversation he was going to have with Sophie. Part of him was angry. How could she have kept something like this from him? But a big part of him was still in shock? He had a daughter! All because of that night. The night he has always thought it had been a dream because when he woke up, she had gone without leaving a trace, like she had never been there in the first place.

_Two years and three months before…._

He was sitting alone in the dark room. He held a nearly empty bottle of scotch in one hand, and a loaded gun in the other. He kept looking at it. It would have been so easy. Just put the barrel at his temple and press the trigger. Of course things are never so easy.

"Nate" a low whisper. "Nate," this time it was followed by a hand on his shoulder.

He lifted his head. Through his teary eyes, he could see the familiar figure. "Sophie?"

"Yeah,"

"How did you find me?" His hold on the gun tightened.

"It helps if you know where to look" She sat next to him on the bed, her shoulders brushing his.

"I've buried my son today, Sophie" he finally whispered.

"I know, I was there. I'm so sorry." She didn't know how to give him comfort.

He finished off what was left of the alcohol in the bottle. "I don't know how to go on without him. Even Maggie has finally left. It won't be long before she will send me the divorce papers."

"I know it seems like you have nothing left now…"

"I have nothing left!" He suddenly shouted. "No son, no wife, no job, no house! Nothing!" He finally looked her in the eyes. "Tell me what I've got to live for"

His broken words hurt her. "Oh, Nate" she started crying. "There is always something"

He looked away.

"I'm still here." She tried. She had always had these feelings for him. Feeling she knew he will never return them.

"For how long Sophie? Until tomorrow or the next con?"

"Until you need me" she answered honestly. She put her hand on his, the one holding the gun, and with a gentle move she took it away from him and put it on the bedside table.

With his now free hand, Nate gently caressed her face, then he stroked her hair. "I need you now" he whispered while leaning towards her face.

His lips were gentle at first, but he soon heated the kiss. She could taste the hard liquor on his lips and tongue. This was so wrong, she kept thinking, he was drunk and grieving, he had no idea what he was doing. Forgetting all about her conscience was tempting, but at the end the rational part of her brain won.

"Nate," she tried to push him away but he kept kissing her. "Nate, stop! You don't want this, you're not in the right state of mind right now and you will regret it. We both will"

Nate stopped his assault and sighed. He got up and took a swing from the bottle. Once the liquid was finished, he threw the empty bottle on the couch.

"You know what, Sophie?" he said angrily "The last thing I need right now is you giving me a lecture. You can either stay or leave."

She shook her head and got up resign. She was about to leave when he suddenly dropped on his knees and started sobbing. "I need to forget. Just for one moment, I need to forget everything." He lifted his head up. "Please, help me forget" he pleaded.

Sophie looked at the broken man in front of her and knew what she had to do. She took his hand in hers and helped him get up. Then she slowly led him to the bed while carefully undressing him. Their love making that night had been both gentle and passionate. She gave him all the comfort he needed and he selfishly took all her love.

The morning after, Sophie was the first to wake up. She rolled on her side and saw the man next to her. Nate was practically passed out laying on his stomach. She quietly got out from her side of her bed and quickly got dressed. As a last minute decision, she bent over Nate and gave him a small kiss on his forehead before taking the gun from where she had left it the night before. Without turning back, she left the hotel room knowing she wouldn't be seeing the man for a long time. Little did she know that that night had gone not without consequences.

Sophie came back into the kitchen where Nate was still standing in the same position she had left him.

"Why didn't you tell me?" he suddenly asked.

"When exactly was I supposed to tell you, Nate?" She said hissing angrily. She wanted to shout but she didn't want to wake up her daughter "When I found out I was pregnant a month later and you were still grieving your son? Or when I gave birth to her in hospital all alone and you were drunk in a bar?"

Nate looked down ashamed knowing she was right. "What's her name?"

She sighed trying to calm herself. "Kailey Samantha"

Nate slowly nodded grateful that she remembered his son who brought them together that night.

"What now?" he softly mumbled.

"I don't know Nate. I was prepared to do this on my own. If you want to stay in her life or not, it's up to you. But if you want to be her father, you'd better be sure about it." She warned him. "I'm not going to let her know you so you can disappear one day"

Nate nodded in agreement. "I would like to be in her life, if that's okay with you"

She gave him a small smile, hoping that that was going to be his decision. "Okay, we'll take it slowly"

He smiled too. "Okay, one step at the time." He sighed. "But I need to finish this job"

Sophie started to protest, but he stopped her. "I owe it to them, to me. I need to close this chapter of my life so I can…" he chuckled. "well, so I can be a full time Dad"

Sophie sighed not happy about the idea, but she could understand his need to complete his mission. She put the coffee machine on. "Well, tell me about this job of yours and let's see if I can help"

They spent the rest of the night looking thorough possible cons. After Nate told her the whole story, she agreed to be their grifter. Dubenich need to be was going to be their one and only job together, so they could then be parents to their daughter.


End file.
